Door-locking mechanism for dump or plow cars.



A. CAMPBELL.

DOOR LOCKING MECHANISM FOR DUM'P OR PLOW CARS. APPLICATION FILED OCT. 30. 914.

1,205, l 57. Patented Nov. 21,1916.

WITNESSES 3 lg g/ EN TOR.

A TTORNEYS.

In! .wwms PEYERS co PnominumwAsNmGmM n c ARGYLE CAMPBELL, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ssrenon TO ENTERPRISE RAILWAY "EQUIPMENT COMPANY, or CHICAGO, ILLI voIs, A oonronarron or ILLINOIS.

DOOR-LOCKING MECHANISM FOR DUMP OR PLOW CARS.

1,205,157. Original application filed September 8,

. This invention relates in general todoor locking mechanisms for dump or plow cars and'isa division of my earlier application Serial No. 788524, filed Septa8, 1913.

Dump or plow cars are frequently provided with side walls formedof doors pivoted along their top edges andhanging ver-' tioally downwardly when closed. These doors are adapted to swing outwardly when the car is being unloaded by the use of an unloading plow or in other manner. The doors having their free edges adjacent the floor of the car, must be firmly secured in position when the car is loaded and must be readily releasable to permit unloading.

It is a principal object of this invention to provide novel and improved means for securing the lower edges of these doors in position, such means being so constructed and arranged as to positively hold the doors rigidly in closed position and yet be easily released to permit all or a part of the doors at one side of the car to open through the single operation of a single operating lever or member.

A further object of the invention is to so arrange such mechanism that it will not project beyond the side edges of the car floor when the doors are free and will thereby be fully protected from damage by the falling load as it is discharged from the car.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent as it is better understood from the following description when considered'in connection with the accompanying drawing illustrating a preferred embodiment thereof.

Referring to the drawings: Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portion of a car provided with a mechanism embodying my present invention; Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken transversely of the car shown in Fig. 1 near one of its ends; and Fig. 3 is an enlarged detailed view taken sectionally through one of the loops with which the .Specification of Letters Patent.

1913, Serial No. 788,524. 30, 1914. Seria1-No.869,356.

Patented Nov. 21, 1916.

Divided and this application filed October doors are provided to engage the locking mechanism, as will be later described.

In the embodiment of the invention shown on the drawing only a portion of the car is disclosed and the running-gear is entirely omitted, as it forms no part of mv present invention;

In the car body shown on the drawings each side of the car comprises two longitudinal top side members 12 arranged at right angles to each other and supported at intervals with side stakes or supports 13. Between the side stakes and forming the body of the side wall of the car are doors 14 pivotally mounted along their top edges to the vertically disposed top members 12 by hinge butts 15, hinge members 16 and pivot pins 17 connecting the hinge members with the hinge butts.

The hinge members 16 are of heavy metal and extend clear across the width or'height of the door. Beyond the door these hinge members are extended and turned upon themselves to form cam shaped loops 16, as shown in Fig. 2. These loops are curved on their outer face beneath the floor 22 of the car and are adapted to be engaged by locking loops 18 to secure the doors in closed position. The locking loops 18 are of U- shape form and each embraces at its ends a shaft or rod 19 of angular cross-section so that turning of the rod 19 in its bearings will swing the U-shape members 18 vertically into and out of engagement with the loops of the hinge members 16, the outer portion of the U-shape members sliding up the cam faces of the loops on the hinge members and drawing these members tightly against the side edges of the car floor to lock the doors in closed position. The shaft 19 is provided with an operating lever or arm 20 disposed substantially in the plane of the U-shape members 18, and this shaft is mounted to turn freely in bearings 21 positioned beneath the floor 22 of the car, said bearings being secured to the side sill girders 23. This arrangement permits both the lever arm 20 and the U-shape members 18 to be disposed downwardly out of the way while the car is unloading, the U-shape members being thus fully protected from the falling load. The cam surfaces of the U-shape loops are in tight frictional engagement with the U-shape members when the doors are locked, and to aid these cam surfaces in retaining the U-shape members in looking position against the action of the vibration of the train in movement, I pro vide a positive lock, consisting of a ratchet wheel 25 and a pawl or latch 24, the ratchet wheel being fast on the shaft and the pawl 24 pivoted to move freely on an appropriate part of the car. Loops of the downwardly extending hinge members 16 form convenient handles for lifting one of the car doors should it stick in use.

It will be manifest also that the locking loops 18 fixed to the shaft are under tension in the exercise of their holding function, and that such arrangement maintains the shaft itself under a pulling or tension strain while any strain is exerted upon the locking loops 18. This arrangement is believed to add materially to the strength of the construction.

It is thought that the invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing any of its material advantages, the form hereinbefore described being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

I claim:

1. A plow car having side doors pivoted at their upper edges extending from end to end of the car, and mechanism for closing and locking said doors, said mechanism ineluding loops on the lower edges of said doors, a longitudinally extending shaft and members on said shaft adapted to engage said loops and cam the'doors to closed position, substantially as specified.

2. A plow car having pivoted side doors extending from end to end of the car, and mechanism for locking said doors in closed position, said mechanism including depend: ing loops fixed to the lower ends of the doors, each loop having an exterior cam surface, a longitudinally extending shaft and U-shaped members secured to said shaft, the number of said U-shaped members corresponding to the number of said loops and adapted to engage the latter and thereby cam the doors to closed position, substantially as specified.

3. A car of the character described hav 'ing swinging side doors suspended by hinge ARGYLE CAMPBELL.

Witnesses:

S. C. CARPENTER, ESTHER ABRAMs.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

